Dexter As A Sitcom

My friend Lisa Turtle and I were recently talking about how some shows would turn out if they were different, with one of the ideas being how Dexter would be if it were a sitcom. My short answer to this is that it would be fucking awesome, but I’ll go into detail some more.

When I think of Dexter as a sitcom I immediately think of American Psycho, because it had that exaggerated funny feel to it, which could be applied to Dexter. Bateman often gets really angry but it’s funny and this would work well in Dexter if it were a sitcom. For instance, one of my favourite scenes is when Dexter screams ‘fuuuuuck’ imitating someone he’s about to murder, which was hilarious and you can watch here.

If Dexter were a sitcom there would be a lot of opportunities for some funky music, I can just imagine Dexter for instance accidentally forgetting one of his victim’s leg’s or something and then there’s that typical Seinfeld music and Dexter would say “not again” followed by a laugh track. It would be cheesy but hilarious if done well.

Laugh tracks are weird since they’re forcing you to laugh basically and they don’t work in all shows, however they are a good addition to some and give me a nostalgic feel considering they are in a lot of old sitcoms. This reminds me of an ‘It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia’ episode where they’re all watching Charlie and Mac’s mothers live together and interact through secret cameras. Their mothers do no get along and there are questionable scenes where one of them even almost hits the other on the head, but whenever Dennis puts a laugh track over it, instead of worrying it became funny and acceptable, which I think applies to actual sitcoms. Someone could say how they want to murder someone in a serious voice and it sounds bad, yet if you add a laugh track it suddenly becomes a joke and it’s great. You could make some of the most narcissistic, awful characters funny by adding a laugh track. I have a theory that you could make anything funny with one. Sometimes in life when something bad happens to me and i’m worrying or mad at myself, i play the Seinfeld laugh track and music in my head and laugh, pretending i’m in a sitcom. The use of a laugh track for Dexter as a sitcom would be brilliant.

Picture a scene of Dexter saying “I really need to kill somebody” with his serious monotone voice… followed by a laugh track. It would be like “oh Dexter not again” and it would be hilarious. Dexter also tends to shrug a lot and not understand things, as well as make jokes he doesn’t even understand he’s making. This would be brilliant for a sitcom where Dexter does something like kills someone and then just shrugs, followed by a laugh track. Another good example is when someone is talking about someone who died to Dexter but they don’t know that Dexter actually killed them, so whenever they mention it there could be a laugh track and it could zoom in on Dexter’s face.

There are so many scenes which would make good jokes. For instance when Doakes comes out of nowhere and says “surprise motherfucker”, there could be a round of applause and a laugh track. This scene is followed by Dexter saying “you following me now?” And Doakes says “you better have a hell of a reason for being here”, Dexter then says he’s looking for his sister and Doakes replies with “in a cargo box?” Jesus Christ that’s a perfect joke within itself, just add a laugh track and it’s gold. I actually found a youtube video where someone turned this scene into a sitcom and it’s the best thing I’ve ever seen, you can check it out here.

Deb is also constantly swearing and coming up with unique phrases such as “pretty fucking please with cheese on top” or “fuck me sideways” or when Dex asked her if she wants a hug and she says “fuck off”, honestly like i said before, add a soundtrack anywhere and it’s sitcom genius. My favourite moment is probably when she says “Oh sweet Mary mother of fuck that’s good” When drinking an espresso and Dexter says “I think you might have broken a commandment somewhere in there” literally if that isn’t perfect for a sitcom I don’t know what is. Also i 100% agree with her reaction to drinking an espresso, because that’s me literally every time i drink coffee.

Dexter also tends to be called names frequently, usually ass or asshole, which could be this funny ongoing phrase here, considering most sitcoms have this ongoing thing to it where someone is called a specific name or they make reference to something throughout the whole show. This could be his thing. For instance in Seinfeld Kramer has his epic entrances into the apartment and in How I Met Your Mother, Barney has his “suit up“.

Masuka is also really inappropriate and funny by just being himself which would fit perfectly as a sitcom. For instance, when someone asked for the cause of death and the dead guy fell so Masuka looked up and said “gravity”, or when it’s Christmas and a hooker was found dead and Masuka says “ho ho ho, another hoe’s dead… someone’s been naughty”, I could honestly go on forever. Masuka would be the funny, pervy, inappropriate guy in the show. Another perfect scene would be when Masuka thinks he found blood but it’s just chocolate which is on his shirt also, so he says “damn it’s a new shirt too”. And let’s not forget his creepy laugh.

Overall with Dexter’s clueless personality and jokes, Deb’s swearing and just all the bizarre shit that goes down, I think Dexter would make an amazing sitcom. I thought I was the only one with this brilliant idea but I’ve found many YouTube videos of people adding laugh tracks to Dexter so i will link some of my favourites below. As I always say: sitcoms and serial killers, my two favourite things.

I was born jaundiced. Once I sat on a toilet seat at a truck stop and caught hemorrhoids. And I've learned to live with this chicken bone that's been lodged in my throat for the past three years, so I knew Dad would be devastated when he learned of my latest affliction. Dad, I don't wanna upset you, but my left breast is developing at a significantly faster rate than my right. It can only mean one thing. Cancer. I'm dying.